44 Nebraskaland • January-February 2026
A
statue of Chief Standing Bear stands in the U.S. Capitol,
and Lincoln's newest high school is named in his honor.
The Ponca leader is celebrated for an 1879 court case in
which he successfully challenged the government that
was holding him prisoner.
In Standing Bear v. Crook (1879), Judge Elmer Dundy ruled
for the first time in a federal court that "an Indian is a person
within the meaning of the laws of the United States." As
we commemorate 250 years of American independence
in 2026, it's timely to look at the role of the Declaration of
Independence in this famous Omaha trial.
The Ponca had never been at war with the United
States and had never sold their land near the mouth of the
Niobrara River. Nevertheless, the government forced them
to move to Indian Territory. There, they suffered from hunger
and disease.
In the dead of winter, Chief Standing Bear led a group of
Poncas on foot back to Nebraska, where they were arrested
and held at Fort Omaha by Gen. George Crook.
Aided by Omaha attorneys, Standing Bear took the
unprecedented step of suing the federal government in
court. This was the first time a Native American had done so.
He sought a writ of habeas corpus, a concept from English
common law that prevents unlawful imprisonment. The
government had not charged the Poncas with a crime but
insisted that no Ponca could leave the reservation without
permission.
Federal attorneys even argued that Standing Bear had no
right to challenge them in court. As a Native American, they
said, he was not the kind of "person" that was meant when
the law spoke of the rights of the people.
As in most trials, many of the arguments were technical
and legalistic. But Judge Dundy got to the heart of the
matter in his ruling. He noted that the federal attorney had
and the Declaration of Independence
By David L. Bristow, Nebraska State Historical Society
Chief Standing Bear
Standing Bear, his wife and one of his sons, 1870s.
NSHS RG2066-PH5-2
A later photo of Standing Bear. NSHS RG2066-PH5-1
